“No one is asking people to join, to get under the stretcher, and not have a say in the direction of the stretcher,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's interim prime minister, on March 15, using a familiar military term for jointly shouldering a load. He was referring to his invitation to opposition leaders to join an emergency unity government, under his leadership, to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Benny Gantz, Amir Peretz and Avigdor Liberman, chairs, respectively of the Blue and White, Labor and Yisrael Beitenu, received invitations, but Knesset member Ayman Odeh and his colleagues from the Arab Joint List were left off the list of invitees compiled by the man who is a lead defendant under criminal indictment for corruption.
Even in the fight against an epidemic that is afflicting all people, regardless of religion, race or nationality, Israel’s Arab citizens are not deemed fit by Netanyahu to carry the nationalist stretcher. They should simply be grateful that Arab doctors and nurses are being allowed to carry the stretchers of Jewish coronavirus patients.
